Many have questioned my use of Zen in the title of my book, African Zen. The practice of Zen is being present here and now, being with our experience in the present moment, and heightening our awareness of what we are experiencing without having a need to interact or control events. In Zen practice, a person can just be. A joyful life is one with continual awareness of the self in the present moment. If we are still we know Spirit. We are spirits having a human experience. Zen is a way to acknowledge and experience who we really are and to know that all things except our inner spirit, come and go.
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nine principles for joy 
I love the philosophy that Zen Buddhism promotes. It has a way of bringing clarity to once confusing and complex experiences. Being in the moment of the present, erases all that occurred before the present. In my meditation as past thoughts occur, I release them to eternity unfolding and infinity expanding. This metaphor of a higher power can do more with my past, particularly hurts, than I can in the moment. The best action I can take is to let them go. In the words of a Buddhist male friend, “Gloria, let it go and watch how it returns to you.” It’s amazing!